3 / 2000
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The 80th Anniversary
THE UNIVERSITY WAS FOUNDED BY PRIVATE DONORSAcademia Aboensis, the Academy of Turku, was transferred to Helsinki in 1828, mainly for political reasons, but also due to the fire that had destroyed most of Turku. This left Turku without a higher education institution for 90 years. In the beginning of the 20th century, there were increasing demands for the establishment of a Finnish-medium university. The Swedish-speaking citizens also started to demand their own university, in addition to the one in Helsinki.
For a long time, Jyväskylä was considered to be the suitable place for a new Finnish-medium university, whereas Turku was the obvious location for a Swedish-medium university.
The journalist K.N. Rantakari brought up the idea of establishing an "academia rediviva" in Turku, in 1911. "A Finnish-medium university in Turku, or no Finnish-medium university at all." For him, it was evident that the era of higher learning should be revived in Turku, and he was convinced that a Finnish university would be an important step on the way to achieve this.
Mr Rantakari’s initiative started a public debate in newspapers. His initiative received an unfavourable response from Helsinki, whose intelligentsia thought that Jyväskylä or Vyborg would be a more suitable location for the new university. Mr Rantakari had moved to Turku to be the editor of the Uusi Aura newspaper, and he used his articles to gain support from the prosperous farmers of wealthy south-west Finland. The Swedish-speaking bourgeoisie of Turku naturally supported their own university project, but they were not against a Finnih-medium university either; they saw it as an opportunity to raise the status of Finland’s second largest town.
The International Students Advisor, Mr Hannu Laaksonen gives professional guided tours
for international students in Turku Castle.22 000 donors
The university project was delayed by the First World War; thus, the fund-raising campaign could not begin until 1917. Mr Rantakari had established an association that decided to start a nation-wide fund-raising campaign on 28th February, the day of the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala. By that time, Mr Rantakari had had to move away from Turku, but he continued to give his full support to the idea. The Turku Finnish University Society, later known as the Turku University Foundation, was founded on 29th April 1917. The fund collectors visited the people of Turku who were thought to be patriotic and Finnish-speaking. The first donor was Heikki Kestilä whose 10 000 marks was the first in a long list of donations that helped to establish Turku University.
However, the year 1917 was politically unstable, and an extensive fund-raising campaign had to be postponed. Nevertheless, voluntary collectors were enlisted, and they organised several festivals to raise morale. One of these festivals was held on 16th December in Helsinki, where the intelligentsia were not originally in favour of having a Finnish university in Turku.
The Civil War broke out in the beginning of 1918, and all the major towns in southern Finland were occupied by the Red Guards. This brought the fund-raising campaign to a halt for three months, until the White Guards arrived in Turku, and the fund-raising could continue. The collectors were surprisingly successful in the countryside, although the people there were suffering from deprivation. One of the main reasons for the success was the appeal that the collectors made to the farmers of south-west Finland: the villages had not suffered from the Civil War, so it was patriotic, and almost a duty to contribute money to establish a university. As one of the collectors said: "The money is there, you just have to know how to extract it from tight-fisted individuals."
The extensive fund-raising campaign started in 1918 and reached its peak in 1919. In total, there were as many as 22 000 donors between 1917 and 1922. This makes the establishment of Turku University very special world-wide: especially when most of the donors, artisans, teachers and farmers, lived in the countryside. On the other hand, the farmers of the northern parts of Finland, for example, Ostrobothnia and Lapland, did not participate. The collectors travelled from house to house, and some doors were shut in their faces.
The beacon of higher learning
Several villages caused difficulties and gave the collectors a hostile welcome, while others were extremely enthusiastic about establishing a Finnish-medium university. The people of Rauma set a good example of enthusiasm; the Länsi-Suomi newspaper wrote on 5th February 1921: "We assure you, that when it is our turn to participate in the establishment of the first Finnish-medium university, we will do so with the dignity that the history of our home town requires. The roots of the co-operation between Turku and Rauma go deep. Thus, the Finnish-medium university must be established in the town from where it can shine like a beacon over Europe and guide the evolving higher education of future generations."
The local collectors sent letters to Turku and commented on the villages, for example, Kuru in Central Finland: "I would not do justice to the people of Kuru, if I did not emphasise that their donation for the university, over 70 000 marks from almost 40 donors, is a significant sacrifice from a village that is still living in very primitive conditions." (J. Kirsi, shopkeeper)
The statue ‘Genius guiding youth’ by Wäinö Aaltonen. The dark sides of the fund-raising
Some villages where people were tight-fisted were disappointments to the collectors. Some of these villages were near Turku. J.E. Salomaa wrote: "In NN, the people do not easily loosen the purse strings, nor are the farmers interested in the university. They think their village is the centre of culture and economy in the verdant southwesternmost corner of Finland. However, anybody who has ever had to move there, from no matter where, thinks that NN is one of the most striking examples of a village at the back of beyond. This is the opinion of farmers and civil servants alike. For myself, I completely agree!"
Furthermore, the greatest discretion had to be shown when collecting money from door to door. Vilho Osonen wrote from Längelmäki near Tampere in January 1921: "The result of the campaign will not be satisfactory. This is the very first time I have ever seen such a quarrelsome bunch of villagers. Of course, we collectors always take into consideration the local intrigues and relationships, but here they have caused us more trouble than usual."
The people from Karelia, that was part of Finland until 1940, were very enthusiastic about the fund-raising campaign. Especially people in Sortavala were very generous; they even held a festival to celebrate the successful campaign in January 1922. In general, the Karelians were more generous than, for example, people in South Ostrobothnia. However, the most special group were the Finnish Americans: there were 350 000 Finns living in the United States at the time and, in 1923, they held a three-month fund-raising campaign. The people from Massachusetts and Michigan contributed the most.
Altogether, the fund-raising campaign brought in nearly 20 million marks, from as many as 22 000 donors. Officially, the fund-raising campaign ended on 31st December 1922, but the Turku University Foundation has continued raising funds to support the university. The donations in the beginning of the 1920s also included works of art by several artists. The women from the Pori region made a magnificent tapestry rug, a most valuable piece of art to be preserved for future generations.
Birth of the university
The University fund-raising campaign exceeded all expectations, and the meeting to establish the Finnish Turku University was held on Kalevala Day 1920, thus, 28th February 1920 is the birthday of the University of Turku.
On the following day, a magnificent celebration of the University of south-west Finland was held. So many people attended that the celebration had to be held in two locations, in the festival hall of the voluntary fire brigade in Eerikinkatu, and in the theatre across the road. The theatre no longer exists. After the University was officially established, the Phoenix building by the market square, at the corner of Aurakatu and Yliopistonkatu, was bought and renovated for the University. Teaching started only in June 1922, but the people were enthusiastic about the new University, and it received a warm welcome from the young, independent Republic of Finland.
Hannu Laaksonen
The author is a Licentiate and researcher in cultural history,
specialising in the history of Turku and Turku University.
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